Fuel briquette



Patented Feb. 2 0), 1%23.

na ure eat-rant caries.

GEORGE E. SHEEHAN HUGH A.

ernnnn, or sna'r'rnn; wasnineron.

FUEL BRIQUETTE.

No Drawing. .1 i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it know that we, GEORGE F. SHEEHAN and HUGH A. GILLEN, citizens of the United I carbonizing combustible substances to produce tuel briquettes of a relatively high degree of efficiency. i i I With this end in View the invention consists in compounding the lignite or sub-bituminous' coal with the desired percentage of binding material or binder, such as tar pitch, asphalt, or gilsonite and the desired per centage of a coking or CEiI'bOIllZlIlg substance, such as tree burning sulphur, all of which are thoroughly pulverized and mixed, and molding the resultant compound into briquettes of the desired shape and size.

In carrying out the invention our compo= sition consists of pulverized coal; a binder,- such as pulverized tar pitch, asphalt or gilsonite; a coking agent,such aspulverized sulphur; a clinker eliminator, such as pul- "erized sea shells; a smoke and soot minimizer, such as pulverized zinc; and a sub-- stance to. prevent the disintegration of the briquette during the burning of the same, such as pulverized manganese.

In preparing the composition we. prefer to use the elements or ingredients-in ap proximately the following proportions-viz: 90 per cent ofpulverized coal; 7 per cent of pulverized coal tar. pitch, asphalt or gilson ite; one and one halfper cent of pulverized sulphur; a half of one percent of pulverized sea shells; a half of one per cent of-pulverized zinc: and a half of one per cent verized metallic manganese. I 1

In some cases. dependin upon the-grade of coal to be briqu'etted, t e sea shells, zinc and manganese may be omitted, or'anv one of the same when desired, in which event additional pulverized coal isadded to re place the element or'elements omitted."

The elements or ingredientsin-the-above mentioned proportions are next placed in a mixer of any well known form, which mixer is maintalned vMa ia Application filed September 24, 1921.

. charged from the press are then placed in a of puli heatedcondition durins SerialNo. soaeee,

the mixing operation at an approximate temperature of 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

(hen the elements or ingredients comprising the composition have been properly mixed, the resultant mixture is then fed through suitable conduits to a briquette forming press of any well known'vform', wherein said mixture is compressed under the desired pressure to produce briquettes of the selected size, shape and density. The said briquettes on being discharged from said press are then ready for shipment.

However, if coke is desired and required I the resultant product or briquettes discoking oven and baked at a suitable temperature to produce a high grade coke of high commercial value. I I

In briquetting the substances hereinbefore enumerated, using only a binder, it Was gration of the same, the reason for such cok ng or carbonizing action taking place, being that during the initial stages of combu s tion the sulphur is rendered viscid and plas -tic, but as the heat or temperature increases during the later stages of combustion the I' found in repeated tests that the briquettes o viscosity of the sulphur diminishes and the I tendency for the sulphurfto pass into a crystalline form or state increases, thus causring coking or carbonization of the briquettes.

It will thus be apparent that by adding a predetermined percentage of sulphur to or non-combustible :sulphurinherent in some grades of lignite and sub-bituminous the substance to be briquetted, which sul- 'phur'inust not be confused with the-organic" coals, that such addition of sulphur will 3 change thelignite or sub-bituminous coals during the combustion period to .a coked or ,carbonized state. Iii-other words, the prop- 'erties, effect and usefulness of the substances enumerated are changed-by the interaction and addition of the sulphur-and the identity.

of the said substances substantially dedescribed coking or carbonizing action is the substantial retention in the unconsumed portion of the treated fuel during the period of combustion of the volatile matter inherent in the substances aforementioned.

By thus retarding the expulsion of the volatile matter the B. t. u. ratio of the treated fuel is considerably increased over that ofl'tlie aforesaid substances in a raw or natural state.

Repeated analysis of both'the raw and treated substances indicated the following satisfactory results; an increase of from 1500 to 3000 B. t. u.s; a substantial increase of the fixed carbon ratio and a similar increase of the volatile matter ratio in the treated substances over that of the raw substances.

Sulphur, when treated'with a bituminous binder about the melting point of sulphur, produces a vulcanized binder.

What We claim is: v

1. A fuel briquette containing lignite and a bituminous binder vulcanized by'sulphur, said binder being composed of approximately 4 parts bitumen and 1 part of sulphur.

2.A fuel briquette containing approximately ninety per cent of lignite, and the remainder containin a bituminous binder vulcanized with a re atively small quantity of sulphur.

3. A fuel briquette composed principally of lignite and having a bituminous binder and containin a relatively small quantity of added sulphur, adapted to vulcaniz'e the binderand produce coking of the fuel.

In Witness whereof, We hereunto subscribe our names this 19th day of September A. D.

GEORGE F. SHEEHAN. HUGH A. GILLEN. 

